The supervisors, attached to the state Division of Special Revenue, have been stationed at the casino in Ledyard and are charged with ensuring that casino games are run fairly and legally.

The Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which runs the casino, reimburses the state for regulation costs, including the salaries of the supervisors, which range from $27,671 to $48,181.

The state and the tribe are negotiating a new agreement for the cost of state regulation and police protection at the casino for the next fiscal year, which begins Wednesday.

Termination notices have been sent to all six casino supervisors, in anticipation of no agreement being reached. They have worked at the casino since it opened Feb. 15.

It is unclear whether Weicker wants to include money for the supervisors in the next reimbursement agreement.

"I think the question arises as to whether the personnel that have been there are needed, and this has been a matter of discussion," Weicker said. "We have not arrived at a conclusion."

Weicker would not say whether termination of the regulators was his idea or the tribe's.

Casino officials could not be reached for comment. If the state regulators are removed from the casino, responsibility for integrity of the games will be left to the casino's internal Tribal Gaming Commission.

Another unresolved subject of negotiation is how many state liquor control inspectors should be stationed at the casino. Now, two inspectors are responsible for patrolling bars at the casino, which is visited by more than 10,000 people a day.

William W. Sullivan, chairman of the state Liquor Control Commission, said he needs at least nine inspectors to adequately enforce the law, which bars the sale of alcoholic beverages to underage drinkers, among other regulations. The casino has agreed to pay for five inspectors, Sullivan said.

Money for the casino gambling unit of the state police, which

checks for criminal backgrounds of casino employees and vendors and enforces criminal laws in the game room, does not appear to be in question.

Under the existing agreement, the tribe is to pay $1.29 million for six months of regulatory services by the state. That agreement expires Tuesday. William J. Cibes Jr., the state's budget director, would not disclose the approximate budget for next year's regulatory services.

The tribe was granted permission to offer casino gambling on its reservation under a contract with the state signed about a year ago. The contract specifies that the state must be allowed to license casino employees and audit the casino's financial records. It does not say the tribe is required to pay state regulators to be at the casino.

Last winter, Demetrios Louziotis Sr. -- director of the state Division of Special Revenue, which regulates all legalized gambling in Connecticut -- created a seven-member unit to oversee the casino. Officers from similar units are posted at jai alai frontons and off-track-betting parlors.

One casino regulator Louziotis hired was his brother, John Louziotis. Weicker ordered Louziotis to fire his brother and the state ethics commission fined the gambling chief $1,000 for the hiring decision.

The six other people Louziotis chose to safeguard the integrity of casino games included a laid-off radio advertising salesman; a laid-off state mental retardation worker; a former music store owner; a laid-off crane salesman; and a former investment banker